The present invention relates generally to a door check device, and more particularly to a removable door check device for use with a door hinge for holding a vehicle door in an opened position. The present invention also relates to a door hinge including a removable door check device.
During the manufacture of vehicles, the vehicle body and doors are typically painted together in a single process step after the doors have been mounted to the vehicle. It may be desirable to keep the vehicle doors held in an opened position temporarily so that the certain painting operations can be performed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,236 describes a vehicle door prop clip for a vehicle hinge having split hinge pins. The prop clip is mounted onto the vehicle hinge by placing a sleeve member of the prop clip over one of the hinge pins in the split-pin hinge. The prop clip includes two lobes which compress as one hinge part is pivoted with respect to the other hinge part and contact the lobes. A disadvantage of the this device is that it is only useable on hinges having split pins, and in which at least one of the split pins is accessible.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,243 describes a door check mechanism that includes first and second hinge parts rotatably connected on an axis of rotation. The mechanism includes a third, intermediate, hinge part that is also rotatably connected on hinge pins about the axis of rotation and includes a cam surface. A flexible prop button is mounted to one of the first and second hinge parts and is adapted to releasably contact the cam surface of the intermediate hinge part as the door is rotated about the hinge to releasably hold the door in an opened position. A disadvantage to this solution is that it requires a permanent additional moving part (the intermediate hinge part) to be added to the hinge. Only the prop button is removable after the painting process, while the intermediate hinge part remains permanently as part of the hinge.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,866 describes a resilient detent mechanism for selectively maintaining a vehicle door in an opened position. The detent mechanism is mounted to the hinge by engagement with the hinge pin of the door. As the door is moved to a fully opened position, a corner of the mechanism interferes with a portion of the hinge and is compressed. Like the devices described above, this one requires access to the hinge pin to function.